Embrace Rose Buds and Vanilla

I loved this! Vera Wang Embrace Rosebuds and Vanilla was the first rose perfume that I actually liked! Most rose perfumes up to that point in my life, which was my mid thirties, gave me grandma or stuffy vibes. This was soft, airy, dewy fresh pink roses with a slight cozy vanilla. I think the magnolia and iris came through too and gave it uniqueness. My teenage daughter loved it back then too! I am in my forties now and she’s in her 20’s, but she may still have her body spray! I’ll have to ask. I would love to find a dupe as it seems to be overpriced now on Ebay. Maybe discontinued? This may be one of my all time favorite rose perfumes, but I do remember it not lasting long as others have commented so finding a similar scent that has better longevity would be awesome! I find the right rose very comforting and vanilla as well so this is a perfect pairing. Update: I scored and found a bottle at Burlington! I believe it was around $15 for a small bottle. It still doesn’t last, but still very pretty! And I have Mancera Roses and Vanilla, not alike at all. That is a deeper woody rose, more sexy and heavy. This is a more demure light rose with just a hint of warmth.

Well if it had Bergamot and Amber it'd remind me more of Hot Couture but to me it belongs in the same "sweet (jam-like sweet) yet sophisticated" category. But I do get some of the Mandarin(the only fruit in the composition!), it's an unexpected lovely twist. Overall this is very woody to my nose. When I was little we used to visit in Late April our winter abode in a green suburb of Athens close to the mountain. It was still chilly there, the house was in the pine forest and my mom made rose sweet(we cook the rose petals - we use the 100 petal pink or red roses for it- in sugar with rose water it's basically rose jam,only richer we eat it on its own or add it on vanilla ice cream), so the combo of the wood smell and this "rose dessert" is contained in this fragrance that's why it was love at first spray for me. Perfect chilly weather scent. Longevity on me is fantastic. Update: Now that I am getting deeper into the notes game, I realize that Iris is that magical note that gives perfumes a powdery almost doll-like sweetness (see La Vie Est Belle, Sensual Amber BBW, KKW Night Iris).

To be honest, Rosebuds and Vanilla looked and sounded so boring that I almost didn't try it. Some of these reviews make it sound really juvenile and basic, so it wasn't on my radar. But I did get around to sampling and was shocked. This is not just a dull rose and vanilla powder! There is a cedar-like nip and something almost boozey that I find very unique about this! In fact, I am terrible at detecting rose notes unless a fragrance is almost a rose soliflore, and had I not read the word "Rose buds" I'm not sure I would know! It seems like a hypnotically sweet, a bit powdery spicy-woody rose. I have nothing else like it. This is now in my top favorite florals. Seems like a winter or fall pick for me with that boozy, spicy vanilla and woods. Now I am VERY curious about the rest of the Embrace series.

Re-adding my review since I was not signed in below... I'm not drawn to florals and generally never, ever wear them. This one is different, or maybe I just found I like rose, or both. This is not sweet, powdery or overpowering. (I may have just learned the difference in powdery and soft). As soon as this dries on my skin the sandalwood comes barely peeking out from under the rose and vanilla. I know... call me weird, in this it reminds me of cedar shavings/bedding I used in my hamster cage as a kid. This is a beautiful smell and in no way offensive or overpowering. I love it. So, to my nose, this fragrance is mainly rose, vanilla, then the slight cedar-ish smell. After the first 30 mins or so, it sits fairly close to my skin. This is lovely. I am surprised at how much I like it.

I actually REALLY like this one for the simple fact it smells exactly like the name implies. Rose and vanilla. Soft, sweet and simple, I have been wearing this to work since I bought a bottle for $15 last week. Even my mum loves it and is already trying to steal my bottle! We both adore Stella and whilst this is by no means even close to the beauty of Stella, it is a lovely soft, playful rose scent. I have started layering this with other perfumes and on sale it's just a bargain fragrance in my opinion.